Today will be one of the best Sundays this football season. Browns aren't playing so we get to watch plenty of competent football. I thought I'd get a thread started for any around the league observations.

I like SF v. NYJ (1:00) just bc they're two high profile teams. SF should win handily, but it is at the Meadowlands so we'll see.

My favorite matchup of the week, NO v GB (4:25) just because these teams are so pissed, somebody just might get stabbed. I'm thinkin the Saints drop another one here and remain tied with our home team.

The late game tonight NYG v Phi (8:20), this one could really be a dogfight because let's be honest, those references will never end, nor should they. If Vick doesn't get hammered by the Giants D, this could be a close one. I just don't see Vick NOT getting hammered by the Giants D though.

Really likin the MNF matchup Chi Dal 830. Cutler's not due to be on the rag for two more weeks yet (I think I know his cycle, but I've never been good at that), so there's a chance this one could be good. But Cutler's basically got the same situation as Vick; if he can get protection, they'll have a chance. I'm just not sure if we'll see that happen.

LakeErieWarriors wrote:Win or lose right now, RGIII is learning how to pull out wins in this league.

Meh, he did nothing special against a bad team. Sure, better than Weeds, but no way am I super-impressed by RG3 at this point. Outside of the first game, I thought he'd be better.

Not sure what game you were watching, but he looked like mfin superman compared to Weeds in that one. Part of it is that his run game was very effective, but he was unstoppable in the red zone and was throwing lasers all over the field. Had a handful of balls bounce right off his average ass receivers hands, but kept marching. Kicker missed 2 bunny field goals and a longer 3rd one, and he still got the W when he executed a 2 minute drill (1 timeout) to perfection.

What part of that sounds like Weeden? (Not saying Weeden wont get better as the year goes on, but.....)

Check me out at Dawgsbynature, where I write stuff, or @twitter as Josh Finney.

LakeErieWarriors wrote:Win or lose right now, RGIII is learning how to pull out wins in this league.

Meh, he did nothing special against a bad team. Sure, better than Weeds, but no way am I super-impressed by RG3 at this point. Outside of the first game, I thought he'd be better.

Not sure what game you were watching, but he looked like mfin superman compared to Weeds in that one. Part of it is that his run game was very effective, but he was unstoppable in the red zone and was throwing lasers all over the field. Had a handful of balls bounce right off his average ass receivers hands, but kept marching. Kicker missed 2 bunny field goals and a longer 3rd one, and he still got the W when he executed a 2 minute drill (1 timeout) to perfection.

What part of that sounds like Weeden? (Not saying Weeden wont get better as the year goes on, but.....)

I thought it was clear that I thought RG3 was better than Weeden where I said "Sure, better than Weeds"?

How can I make that clearer? Pig Latin? Ure-shay, etter-bay an-thay eeds-Way.

Maybe I'll rent a neon sign.

RG3, in my opinion and my opinion only, has looked less impressive than I thought he would. Granted, I have high expectations, and the first game was probably an anomoly, but he's made a fuckload of mistakes. This opinion comes from actually watching the games and has absolutely nothing to do with any other QB in this league, especially the ones that play in Northeast Ohio.

LakeErieWarriors wrote:Win or lose right now, RGIII is learning how to pull out wins in this league.

Meh, he did nothing special against a bad team. Sure, better than Weeds, but no way am I super-impressed by RG3 at this point. Outside of the first game, I thought he'd be better.

Not sure what game you were watching, but he looked like mfin superman compared to Weeds in that one. Part of it is that his run game was very effective, but he was unstoppable in the red zone and was throwing lasers all over the field. Had a handful of balls bounce right off his average ass receivers hands, but kept marching. Kicker missed 2 bunny field goals and a longer 3rd one, and he still got the W when he executed a 2 minute drill (1 timeout) to perfection.

What part of that sounds like Weeden? (Not saying Weeden wont get better as the year goes on, but.....)

I thought it was clear that I thought RG3 was better than Weeden where I said "Sure, better than Weeds"?

How can I make that clearer? Pig Latin? Ure-shay, etter-bay an-thay eeds-Way.

Maybe I'll rent a neon sign.

RG3, in my opinion and my opinion only, has looked less impressive than I thought he would. Granted, I have high expectations, and the first game was probably an anomoly, but he's made a fuckload of mistakes. This opinion comes from actually watching the games and has absolutely nothing to do with any other QB in this league, especially the ones that play in Northeast Ohio.

I guess I need a better explanation for what constitutes "special" because he's looked pretty damn special from my view. I've watched every one of his starts (wife is a diehard skins fan) and he hasn't looked like a Rookie very often.

(That being said, he did run out of bounds on 3rd down yesterday a half yard short of the marker and didn't put the ball out, which reminded me an awful lot of Seneca Wallace)

He's got a meh line, meh receivers, and a god awful defense that's already missing its best player. (They're not going to get much better any time soon, either, with the cap hell+giving away picks the next two years)

His stat line by itself (69.4 1,070 8.63 4 tds passing, 1 pick, 103 qb rating) would be passable by itself, with the premium run game they have......and then you add in his 250+ yds running and 4 rushing TD's.

He's the best QB in that division right now, and it isn't close. He'll come down to earth and takes some lumps when he gets the Philly/NYG defense 4 times, but I imagine he still ends up in the top 10-12 QB's in the league at the end of the year, which is remarkable given the dearth of talent around him.

Check me out at Dawgsbynature, where I write stuff, or @twitter as Josh Finney.

LakeErieWarriors wrote:I think RG3 is better than the team he's playing on. Dropped passes, missed FG's, stupid penalties; they don't phase him, he just keeps going on finding ways to win.

One reason a Browns fan would think he's not up to snuff so far? We had him under a microscope for 3-4 months going into the draft last year.

His team is quite bad, so I guess I might be putting some of that on him. "Great" QB's elevate the results of the entire team. Although I suppose you could argue that's an 0-4 team with Rex Grossman.

Like I said, he's clearly the best of the 5 rookies so far. Luck, Weeden, and Tannehill (after yesterday's game) are all in some nebula of inconsistency behind him, and Wilson is clearly (imho) bringing up last. Even he shows some potential. I'd take any of those 5 over Gabbert & Locker, maybe even Ponder.

PS - I would never proclaim RG3 the best QB in a division sporting Eli Manning.

leadpipe wrote:Who da' thunk the two headed coaching monster of Chan Gailey and Dave Wannestadt woulda snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

My God if the Browns hire an old coach.

Keep playing Fred Jackson at the expense of your best offensive player by far fellas.

Similar situation in Miami.... Bush said he agreed with the benching, but I don't see how Joe Philbin benching Reggie Bush the whole rest of the first half helps his team win; they got embarrased today.

TouchEmAllTime wrote:Strange day today, SF-STL tie, Cincy beating down the G-Men, Tenn puts up 37, Balt puts up 55, and the Jets are the worst team in the league. Oh and Cam sure has taken a step back this year.

Cam taking a step back doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I said from Day One of the Cam Newton era he was a marginal talent who would eventually get figured out and neutralized.

I thought it would happen before his first season ended, but I was wrong. I think Newton will be a fine career backup.

LakeErieWarriors wrote:My 'lock of the week' was anything but. Giants can be hit or miss, and they missed today. Luckily I didn't put any cash on it..

The last thing you wanna do is wager a team that will have their bye the following week. Since the bargaining agreement was signed at the beginning of last year, teams in this situation are hitting about .200 against the spread. Unlike years past where you still had to practice, the players now are going on vacation. Breaking routine to get shit taken care of like we all have to do before vacation.

The sharps have been killing this, however, there's still enough public money in the NFL coming in on the other side. Capitalize before the marginal bettors get on board.

The GD Giants have Super Bowl rings and are heading to Tahiti tomorrow. They could give two shits about the Bengals.

LakeErieWarriors wrote:My 'lock of the week' was anything but. Giants can be hit or miss, and they missed today. Luckily I didn't put any cash on it..

The last thing you wanna do is wager a team that will have their bye the following week. Since the bargaining agreement was signed at the beginning of last year, teams in this situation are hitting about .200 against the spread. Unlike years past where you still had to practice, the players now are going on vacation. Breaking routine to get shit taken care of like we all have to do before vacation.

The sharps have been killing this, however, there's still enough public money in the NFL coming in on the other side. Capitalize before the marginal bettors get on board.

The GD Giants have Super Bowl rings and are heading to Tahiti tomorrow. They could give two shits about the Bengals.